Afterimage: Lost in Twilight
by emptyvoices
Summary: The general horror when Sara and Penny find that a dimension of Twilight characters is a terrifying reality. Who knew that these characters would have such real life implications and how will Sara and Penny keep their sanity?


**A/N: This particular story is considered mostly a parody but is among a series of stories that we plan to post that will vary in genre. I suggest reading Afterimage on Fan Fictional Authoress if you are confused. **

The Doctor recognized Sara instantly even in his newly regenerated body and he heard everything that Penny and Sara said even before he emerged from the TARDIS. _Thought the other Doctor took her but he just left her here? _Somehow Sara must have talked him into it and the guilt the other Doctor must have felt caused him to want to oblige her wishes. It was impossible. The Doctor simply knew Sara would never have stayed hidden indefinitely and surely her Doctor must have told her that. However, he understood the motivations behind that Doctor's actions wanting to somehow make amends to Sara for all that he had done by giving her a reprieve and a taste of a normal life.

_Before I have to take it away. _The Doctor thought sadly but he masked himself carefully behind his disorientation approaching the girls faking puzzlement at Sara's identity so she wouldn't be obliged to run. To his surprise, she even seemed to enjoy his presence and told him that in another life, he helped her at her darkest moment. It was elusive but the Doctor determined that his counterpart's future version might have entered her mind coming to her in a dream state.

She seemed relieved at his lack of knowledge to her identity and welcomed the invitation to the little girl's house that had the scary crack on the wall, even suggesting he eat a particular food item. It wasn't the first thing that popped into his head but with Sara and Penny's detailed knowledge of the future, he wasn't going to question it and skillfully played along.

While examining the crack, as Penny and Sara spoke to Amy, he detected that Sara had a transmat device on her person. Carefully, without alerting Sara to it, he deactivated the transport. _Well, she did come prepared. _He was forced to consider that Sara might have tried to take Penny with her back to her residence. Looking at Sara was like watching a new person. She was no longer the traumatized shadow of herself that ran the instant someone got to close.

He was forced to consider whether this would change once he got her onboard the TARDIS.

"Yes, need to get back in there." Hearing the sounds of cloister bells ringing from the TARDIS. "You two," He looked at Penny and Sara. "Can you help? Engines are phasing and they could burn."

Sara looked befuddled as she recalled him rushing off to do this alone on the show. "Engines?" She asked. "I work in public relations. I don't-"

"Need all the hands I can get to get her stabilized. Just five minutes." He pointed back to the TARDIS and Sara looked alarmed, clearly seeing the flames starting to emerge. "See, she's on fire. Can't have her burning up."

Sara glanced at Penny, clutching onto the screwdriver in her pocket as a safety measure.

"Don't worry," Penny advised. "Remember how he was?" She shrugged. "Besides, I never got to show you my rooms."

"Oh, yeah, right." Sara offered a smile. "New body and all…"

"He doesn't seem to recognize you. He's confused." Penny reminded her.

"Can I come?" Amy asked.

"No, far too dangerous right now. Be back in five minutes." The Doctor advised.

Sara felt silly. This was how the Eleventh Doctor behaved and sure there would be changes because she and Penny were present.

"Right, you're right. Just been a while." Sara said to Penny taking a deep breath as she headed with Penny towards the TARDIS and following the Doctor, got inside.

As she moved deeper into the console area, she looked around in confusion. The fire had vanished and she glanced at the Doctor perplexed. "You said the engines were on fire. Did you still need help?"

"It's been a while hasn't it, Sara?" The Doctor asked her sadly watching Sara as she glanced at Penny, her panic starting to show. 'I thought you disappeared with my counterpart."

Sara slowly started to back away towards the door. "I don't know what you mean." She attempted, as she looked behind her for the exit. The door suddenly swung shut and she grasped the knob, attempting to turn it.

"I'm sorry," He said gently.

Sara turned to Penny who appeared to be in shock. "Penny, talk to him. Tell him to let me out."

"Doctor," Penny tried. "Sara's doing fine on her own. She just came to visit. Can't you…?"

"I'm sorry Penny. Had I known she was still in this dimension, I wouldn't have let her leave the TARDIS. Those are the rules."

Sara could feel the TARDIS shaking beneath her.

"The rules?" She repeated. "Gallifrey no longer exists." She was furious at herself, for her inclination to put herself back in such a position but she had a safety net for a reason. She gripped Penny's arm with the intent to use the vortex manipulator on them both. "Human beings are not yours to claim." She said defiantly as she pressed down on the button to activate it.

"Sorry Sara." He said examining his console. "Knew about that little device of yours an hour ago. Had to take it offline."

Suddenly the TARDIS shook violently, plummeting down as both girls screamed, gripping the railing, until it reached a landing. All the lights went out and to Sara's surprise, the door fell open and she saw trees. _A forest? _The smell of cedar trees permeated the air. It smelled like home, reminding her of the time when she went hiking in the woods with friends in Washington before her dimension disappeared.

Without thinking, she seized the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, repeating an action she completed once before, glanced at Penny. "Are you coming?" She asked and then disappeared, running through the door.

If there was one thing I did not expect, it was Sara's sudden reappearance. I had thought she was gone forever with her Doctor, never to be seen again, the last remnant of home. It had just been me and my Doctor for the longest time. Not that the Doctor wasn't nice or good company, it was just that...he didn't understand, not like Sara did. It was so nice to finally share the same humor over inside jokes that only I knew, that only people who watched 'Doctor Who' knew.

If I was honest with myself, I had been growing weary of all the constant traveling, I wanted to follow in Sara's footsteps by daring to ask for a normal life. I knew it would never happen with ten, it was far too delicate a time, but I had hoped that I would get my chance with Eleven. The only reason he kept me was because of my future knowledge, the information I had because I watched the show, and that was starting to run out. I only watched up until the Weeping Angels episode with River in it. Soon I would be just like anyone else, clueless and normal.

I wasn't including the information that the Nameless provided me, since the Doctor had told me that it was locked away in my subconscious. It couldn't be accessed by anyone except for the Doctor himself on occasion when there was something he needed to know, and that was only because the Nameless's echo let him. He told me this, reassured me that it was highly unlikely that anything would be able to telepathically invade my mind, and even if there was, he wasn't let them have the chance to finish. He wouldn't have anything to worry about anymore, my "Precog" days would soon come to an end and I could finally start my life over once more.

And now, it turned out that Sara had been here for the last year, and she ended up just fine. I knew then, that I could do it too, once my knowledge disappeared. I was so happy when Sara turned out to still be here.

I wasn't alone in this anymore.

It may have been selfish of me, but my dearest wish for the past year was that I could see her again, somehow, someway...It was part of the reason why I so readily coaxed Sara to come on into the TARDIS with me, if only just for a moment, to show her my rooms. More specifically, my souvenir room and picture room. I wanted to show her where I've been, the things I've seen, the stuff I've done...I wanted to show her what I was able to experience thanks to her being a source of strength to me, a source of hope and inspiration. I had only known her briefly, barely the span of two days, but the things I've seen of her through the Nameless…

There was this connection, like I've known her for years. She held a special place in my heart, one of a good and trusted friend.

So when she asked me to convince the Doctor to let her go, I did, despite my reluctance to do so, to let my friend go. I was shocked that the Doctor lied to us to get Sara into the TARDIS with him, but I was even more shocked when he refused to let her go. He avoided eye contact, determinedly not looking at us, and I knew then that he wasn't going to change his mind. I suspected that even after my "ability" of "foreknowledge" ends, I wouldn't be able to leave regardless. I glanced at Sara and knew even if I could though, I wouldn't leave without her. Being alone is the worst thing a person could be subjected to. I wouldn't do it to a friend, certainly not to Sara.

Just as I resigned myself to my new fate, something unexpected happened, the TARDIS fell, crashing once more. The familiar sense of panic and fear that I had felt earlier when the Doctor was regenerating, surfaced once more. I cried out in terror and gripped the railing tightly as the Doctor shouted out in surprise and alarm. With a resounding crash, the TARDIS roughly landed and the doors flew open.

We all fell to the floor and something clattered across it over towards Sara's direction. She quickly scooped it up and, glancing at me, she asked, "Are you coming?" before racing outside.

"Wait, Sara!" I called out in alarm, "You don't know what planet we've landed on, and it could dangerous!" Frantically, I hurried out after her.

"Penelope!" The Doctor cried out, "Come on, don't you go wandering off too! You're supposed to be the companion that stays put!"

"Hurry up, Doctor!" I shot back, "Not my fault you're a slow poke." Unsure of which direction Sara went, I split off in a random one, hoping that I was going the right way. I've didn't quite remember if Sara was this adventurous before, but I probably just had a shoddy memory.

I was giddy, I was in a new place, a new forest, and I had no clue where I was. Where and when were we? Did we travel forwards or backwards in time? Did we travel relatively close or far away in space? I wished that I brought my camera instead of leaving it in my room. I may want to settle down and stop traveling, at least for a small while, but it still didn't decrease my love of new and fascinating places and times, especially when traveling with others. Speaking of other people...

I slowed down, looking around me. There were trees everywhere, no end of them in sight. There was also no sign of Sara, the Doctor, or the TARDIS. I was alone, there weren't even any forest animals or critters of any kind. I frowned, my good mood giving way to apprehension and a slight pressure built in my head. The Doctor was always saying be aware of what's around you, what's missing, what's there that shouldn't be, or even, what's too perfect, too normal to be right. In this case, what was missing was the lack of wildlife and the unnatural still and quiet in the forest.

I stopped, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck start to rise up. I knew, I just _knew _that there was something behind me. I also knew that the moment that I turned around that there would be nothing there. The ache grew worse, the pressure building into a painful headache. My hearts started to beat faster, the two of them making a _lub-dub-dub-dub, lub-dub-dub-dub, lub-dub-dub-dub! _

I suddenly felt lightheaded both from the pressure in my head abruptly disappearing and because I was unused to the extra heart that finally finished duplicating earlier this year. I grew nervous, feeling the eyes on the back of my head intensify, boring into me. I bit my lip and almost whipped around but managed to restrain myself. Instead, I slowly turned my head sideways and looked behind my shoulder out of the corner of my eyes. There was the barest outline of a humanoid figure there. _What would the Doctor do? _I thought worriedly.

_He would probably turn around and talk a lot, confusing everyone in the nearby vicinity… I could try that, better than doing nothing and letting it eat me or something. _Taking a quick, steadying breath, I said, "How long are you going to stare at me? I mean, there's nothing wrong with you looking at me, but it's rude to not introduce yourself and to keep lurking behind me." I paused but there was no answer. The creature had suddenly vanished from my peripheral vision.

I didn't see it move at all, it was just suddenly not there. I turned around completely now, facing the empty forest behind me. _Definitely not human then, there wasn't a sound at all and with all the leaves, there should've been. _ Out loud, I continued, "I understand if you're, if you're scared. I am a bit too...also bit lost. I'm a traveler, you see, and, if it makes you feel better, I'm not completely human either. Have no clue what you are, but obviously not human. I know you're still there… I can feel you."

It was behind me.

I could feel the slightest whoosh of air being disturbed behind me, could hear the quiet intake of breath, could feel the eyes staring at me intently, could feel that weird pressure probing the back of my head again. I turned around once again, looking up to see _gold, gold, gold_ eyes look back at me. They were like a lion's or a hawk's eyes, piercing, intense, unnerving. "Oh, hello there," I breathed. "I-I'm Penelope Elaine Carter, and I'm g-guessing you're the c-cause of the p-p-probing in my head."

Sara ran through the forest relieved to at least being on familiar terrain but furious that she allowed the Doctor to trick her so completely. _The Doctor always lies. _She reminded herself. Especially the Eleventh regeneration. He even enjoyed bragging about it but she had his screwdriver and her biofilter on that her Doctor set up for her. She should have listened more carefully to his warning but she let a silly notion of nostalgia cling to her to see this version of the Doctor when she could have visited Penny during the twelve years he wouldn't be present. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

But she knew this area. It was her home state so she had some advantage being on her home turf.

She looked around. Penny wasn't behind her and she wouldn't be familiar with this area like Sara was. Sara backtracked, searching for her friend as she made her way through the woods.

Suddenly, the Doctor stepped out directly in front of her holding another sonic screwdriver and Sara gasped in reaction, while taking several steps back.

"So what was that about your TARDIS being on fire? Your Engines phasing?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Sorry, I lied."

"And what about Penny? You never intend to let her go do you?"

The Doctor opened his mouth. "Don't bother, I already know but I won't let her to be imprisoned by you for the rest of her life."

"Imprisoned?"

Sara smirked at him. "Spoilers." She swallowed having learned the art of negotiation. "We can make a deal. Take us back, let Penny stay with me. You can know where we are and I'll tell you what you need to know. Everything about River, all your future companions when you need to know it. You didn't want River to die. I know how to save her."

The Doctor examined her cautiously. "River is a paradox."

"There is one loophole. I know it. It won't cause a break in the fabric of reality."

The Doctor shook his head. "Can't risk it. The laws are clear. You are in my dimension which makes you my ward."

"I have a career and a life." She exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"I came back to see you too. It wasn't just for Penny." Sara tried. "I wanted to say hello once."

"And so you did. When I find Penny, you both will have each other. You never know, you might have fun."

Sara shook her head. "I want to go home." She shouted before turning on her heel and starting to run once more.

"Sara!" She heard him yell behind her. She wasn't listening but soon she caught sight of a Penny standing in front of another man.

"Penny!" Sara gasped in relief. "Thank God I found you. What are you-" She gave the man a closer examination and instantly drew a reference by his golden eyes and the sparkly sheen on his skin.

"Ok, Penny, we have to go. He's not right. A stalker."

"Hey!" The man said.

_Christina warned me it could be worse and now it was…_

"Penny, remember Twilight? The book series?"

"Twilight?" The man asked as he ran his hand through his awesomely, gorgeous hair while flashing the two girls his most heart breaking smile only to see one turn away in disgust. "Something that happens at the end of the day?"

Quietly she whispered to Penny. "Stephanie Meyer. Twilight. Vampires."

Suddenly Penny turned to her horrified by the reference. "You mean, in this dimension-"

Sara nodded. "They're real."

"How do you know about me?"

Sara thought quickly through that book and movie series she despised. "Jacob told me."

"What?"

"Oh yes." Sara smiled. "Told me everything and then said, the Volturi were coming."

At breathtaking speed, the man disappeared.

Penny stared at her. "Who was that?"

"Unfortunately, it was Edward Cullen." Sara took a deep breath. "It won't take him long to realize I was lying. We have to split."

Seizing Penny's hand, they started to run only to nearly come face to face with the Doctor again.

Sara threw up her hands. "I seriously don't know which is worst. Being in a dimension where Twilight characters are real or having you trying to lock me up again."

"Let's just take this easy, you two." The Doctor advised. "Come back to the TARDIS with me."

"Why, because you're such a stand up honest person?"

Suddenly a figure broke out from the woods in such rapid speed and pounded on Sara, baring his teeth before sinking them into her wrist. Sara started to scream before looking at Penny and the Doctor."

"It's James…just get out of here. Your fault!" She accused the Doctor. "You trapped me in the one dimension worse than yours. Your fault!"

Maybe they had acute hearing. If she could find the right frequency but she felt the saliva start to course through her. Of course, she felt her energy fighting the venom but the pain from both was excruciating. "You freak." She managed to say to James. "Call yourself a vampire. Why don't you get a job working at Clares? I think they sell plenty of body glitter."

"Oh, hello there," I breathed. "I-I'm Penelope Elaine Carter, and I'm g-guessing you're the c-cause of the p-p-probing in my head."

The eyes intensified even more. "How are you able to do that?"

"Wh-what?" I stammered.

"Keep me out of your head, how are you doing that?" His voice was clear, like a song. I felt unnerved. Was he like an alien version of a siren? One that used telepathy and beauty to lead unsuspecting victims to their death? He was so fast though… maybe his prey was too.

I let out a nervous laugh, "I don't mean to, it's just that my mind can't be touched by others, I know too much. I have a guard that keeps people out."

"A guard?" He repeated, narrowing his eyes on me.

Nervously, I continued, "Y-yes, I've been, I've been taught the basics of keeping standard telepaths out so that they c-can't do surface touches. Besides, it-it's a bit rude to go through a stranger's thoughts w-without their permission…" I trailed off.

"You have two hearts, and smell similar to a human, but something is off. What are you?"

"I-I don't know if I can answer that. I think that...that I might've said too much already." I worriedly glanced behind me. "The Doctor might get mad if I say more."

"Doctor? You've escaped from a hospital?" He asked incredulously.

"No! He's not that kind of doctor, more like one of… of science-like stuff, but he might get upset if I say more. Who or what are you? Could you tell me where we are?"

"I-"

"-Penny! Thank God I found you. What are you…" It was Sara and she was looking at the man next to me in alarm.

"Hi, Sara," I greeted her, relieved.

"Okay, Penny, we have to go, he's not right, a stalker."

'_What?' _I thought, looking back at the possible alien-siren next to me. _'A stalker? Well, I guess you could technically say that he was stalking me.'_

"Hey!" He exclaimed, looking offended.

"Penny, remember Twilight, the book series?" I frowned, unfamiliar with the title. I shook my head.

"Twilight, isn't it something that happens at the end of the day?" He asked, flashing a sad looking smile. Maybe he was an alien-siren who was one of those tragic artists. A poet, maybe, a tragic, depressing poet, Edgar Allan Poe. I could picture him now, looking tragically out the window as it stormed outside, writing, 'The pain, the pain, it always rains, in my soul.'

I had to bite my lip to keep any laughter away. I always hated those moments you got when everyone was serious and thought about something funny and you couldn't laugh because it would be appropriate.

Quietly, Sara whispered into my ear, "Stephanie Meyer, Twilight, vampires." My eyes widened, terrified. Stephanie Meyer was the writer of the book 'Host,' and that one scared the pants off of me because of the parallels between the main character, Melanie, and me, since we both had parasites in our heads that controlled our bodies against our will. I knew that aliens were real-how could I not?- and I knew the all too real possibility that the plot of the Host could come true. It ended hopefully, somewhat bittersweet, but still, aliens, invading, stealing people's bodies... it hit too close to home for me.

If her book 'Twilight' was anything similar but with vampires, I was dead, I was so, so dead. The alien-siren was actually a teen-vampire. I'm so dead. And Sara just insulted him. We're doubly dead now.

"So, you mean in this dimension..." _Vampires existed? _

"They're real," she confirmed.

_Deader than a doornail, which had never been alive in the first place._

"How do you know about me?" The alien-siren/teen-vampire demanded.

"Jacob told me."

"What?" He asked the same time I asked, "Who?"

"Oh, yes," Sara grinned, " Told me everything and then said the Volturi were coming." The man vanished abruptly, leaving only a faint breeze to say that he had ever been there in the first place.

I stared at Sara, amazed. "Wh-who _was _that?"

"Unfortunately, it was Edward Cullen." Unfortunately? Was he the villain? "It won't take him long to realize that I was lying, we have to split." Sara quickly grabbed my hand and started to run, leading me in the opposite direction of where Mr. Cullen had vanished. Suddenly, the Doctor appeared from around a tree, causing Sara to throw up her hands in the air, releasing mine as she growled in frustration. "I seriously don't know what's worse, being in a dimension where Twilight characters are real or having you trying to lock me up again."

Lock her up? Why would the Doctor do that? He promised that was something he would never do to me or anyone. Did he lie about that too? I looked at him, horrified and devastated at the possible betrayal.

_I thought he was my friend._

"Let's take this easy, you two," the Doctor said, holding up his hands in a placating manner. "Come back to the TARDIS with me." I moved forward, instinctively, to obey, but Sara held out her arm, preventing me. I hung back once more, unsure of what to believe or who to follow anymore.

"Why?" Sara asked hotly. "Because you're such a stand-up, honest person?" She looked as if she was about to continue, but suddenly, something interrupted her, attacked her, moving so fast that none of us could react in time. Sara screamed, "It's James! Just get out of here, it's your fault! You trapped me in a dimension that's worse than yours, it's all your fault!" She struggled violently, spitting at the person attacking her, "You freak, think you can call yourself a vampire, why don't you work at Claires? I think they sell body glitter there."

The creature snarled, but before he could do anything, the Doctor launched himself at him. "Get off of her!" He roared, furious.

The creature turned his attention to him, throwing the Doctor off of him, easily, thoughtlessly, brutally. "What _are _you? Not human, the scent is off and you have two hearts...both of you." It turned its attention to me, leering. His eyes were a reddish-black.

"Vampire," I uttered, trembling. My hands flew up to my mouth and I backed away slowly in horror. I froze quickly though, I could sense something behind me. I fearfully turned around to see two more walk towards us at the speeds that shouldn't be humanly possible. _'But then again, they're not human. Unnatural, they're unnatural.'_

"What did you find, James?" The male asked, looking at us as if we weren't even people, as if we were lunch, which to them, we probably were.

"Strange creatures, none of them completely human, not even this one." He gestured at Sara. "The taste is off, not entirely pleasant."

"Should we just kill them then?" The female suggested and I felt a chill go down my spine.

Sara struggled to stand up for a moment, but finally managed, looking none the worse for wear except for her wrist, which was bleeding slightly. Even that seemed to heal in front of our with only the smallest glow emanating from it before it disappeared as if it was never even there. She looked dizzy, disoriented, and in a fair bit of pain, but managed to growl out. "I wouldn't recommend doing that, the Volturi are on their way, and I'm sure that they wouldn't appreciate the waste."

The man standing next to the woman narrowed his eyes. "And what if we don't believe you, girl?"

"Better question is how are you even standing?" The man who had launched himself at Sara earlier asked in disbelief. "I bit you, you should still be scream in agony on the ground." All three looked at her in interest.

"I wonder if they are all like that?" His partner asked and the female snorted derisively.

"Does it matter? She might just have a high pain tolerance. I say we leave them for the Volturi to clean up. They'll either be dead or changed."

"They could be lying," the man next to her countered.

"Yes," the man standing over the unconscious Doctor agreed. "And if they are, they might end up dead anyway, so we might as well kill them. I don't see any other reason not to."

"Then why don't we give you one?" Another voice called out. We all turned to see a tall, bear of a man approach with two people behind him, all three of them unearthly looking.

'_More vampires,'_ I realized, distressed. I sensed eyes on the back of my neck once again, and I whipped around to see four others appear, one of them the Edward Sara had mentioned.

We were surrounded.

_Just fantastic. _The injury on her wrist was fading but the venom was taking longer for her particles to fight out of her system. She didn't care much for the characters in this universe but it was a dimension complete with other innocent people.

"Ok, yes, why don't you guys talk that out? Actually, not raining. Maybe go play a round of baseball and we'll just be on our way." Sara tried beckoning to Penny. "Come on, we can't leave the Doctor like this."

In the last year her ability to control and utilize her abilities had grown significantly although she was careful in how she used them always being alert, not wishing to send a signal to other species or agencies who were observing.

"But wait! You need our protection and-"

Sara rolled her eyes. "Protection? From you? Tell me, is the glitter natural or do you have to reapply it each day?" Sarcasm rang in her tone.

Edward was looking at her disconcerted as he carefully brushed his hair aside in his usual but seductive charming fashion while speaking in his normal breathtaking tone that no female could possibly resist. Indeed, he wondered how these two girls were not already enraptured by him.

"She's the one that told me the Volturi were coming." He advised the man he thought of as his father while Sara rolled her eyes. "Both of them know things like Alice."

"Except I can't draw!" Sara said turning to Penny. "She's the artist here but even she doesn't need to use that ability for people like you."

"Sara!" Penny gripped her arm in warning. She knew Penny was thinking she was being too temperamental and hotheaded but so what. This was the worst place she could possibly imagine being stuck in.

"Sorry Penny but this is the worst possible dimension, ok? These vampires, well this one for example," Sara pointed to Edward and snickered. "Is a 109 year old virgin."

"Hey!" Several of the Cullens raised their voice in protest while Edward flushed in embarrassment. "That's private!"

The group that was about to kill Penny and Sara were just listening in avid amusement. James leaned against a tree. "Go on." His girlfriend glanced at him in surprise. "Victoria, this is amusing. We can wait."

"That is until he meets Bella. Have you met her yet?" She asked Edward.

"Well yes in class but I'm trying-"

"Oh yes, to resist the urge to chow down. Oh and get this, she'll want to be close with him but he'll just brood and sulk. Then takes to stalking her at night and sneaking into her room. Following her in his car." She shook her head at Edward. "Stalker!"

His embarrassment was clear as his family turned to look at him. Carlisle, the eldest vampire looked at Edward. "Is this true?"

"Well a bit but-"

"We talked about this."

"But are they dangerous?" Penny asked.

Sara thought about it. "Maybe when it's sunny."

Carlisle looked at her. "You said the Volturi were coming."

"Oh they will, eventually."

"Maybe now we should eat them." James looked to Laurent.

"But she knows the future." Laurent replied. "If the Volturi are on their way…."

"You're not touching them." Carlisle said. "They are now under our protection."

_Oh super. _Sara started to pray. _God, I've been so good. What did I do to end up here?_

Penny looked nervous. "Sara, the Doctor."

The vampires began to attack each other and Sara stalked over to the Doctor who laid unconscious on the ground. "Don't make me regret this." She seethed. It would take a lot out of her to heal a Time Lord then a human.

"Penny, when I'm done, I'm not going to be able to move for around 10-20 minutes so don't panic. It's fine."

"Wait, what?"

"Time Lords more difficult then humans." Sara said in explanation as she put her hands on the Doctor concentrating on all the empathy she could muster at the moment. Soon a profuse, golden light emanated from her and enveloped the Doctor, completely surrounding him until the light dispersed directly into him, absorbing into his body. He suddenly jerked awake and Sara collapsed on the ground unable to move.

"Just get him out of here, Penny." Sara advised as she struggled within herself. "He won't understand these vampires." She sighed. "I was forced to sit through all four movies with Jessica."

"What happened? Who are they?" The Doctor asked baffled. "Penny you all right? Thought I was-" He paused feeling his head. His injury was gone and then he looked at Sara with alarm. "What happened to her?"

"She healed you." Penny explained with a smile. "She helped you even after-"

Sara could tell Penny was thinking of the Doctor's recent deceit. The Doctor looked regretful. "You're right, I shouldn't have lied but she's under my jurisdiction and that means she's my responsibility. I should have gone about it differently."

"I can't go back. I won't!" Sara exclaimed, struggling with her lethargy. "I came to get Penny. You don't need her anymore. I have a place back home where we could stay. I thought she could even occasionally travel with you from time to time but she could still have a normal life! I was trying to help."

"I know and I am sorry." The Doctor said with sorrow in his tone. "But you and Penny are now my wards."

"No! I just helped you! Please!" Sara begged him.

Penny looked between the two. The Doctor still looked regretful but his determination was still clear in his features. He wouldn't change his mind. Internally, Sara wept. It was the most horrible of circumstances to be trapped in a forest with sparkling vampires with a Doctor who wanted to throw her back into a TARDIS.

"Why couldn't we land in the dimension where Sherlock Holmes played by Benedict Cumberbatch was real? Why do I always get the worst case scenarios?" Sara complained. "What's the next dimension going to be?" She looked at Penny in horror. "Those other books where "The Host" is real? Talk about shiny happy people with parasites in their heads!"

Penny let out a gasp in terror. "No, Doctor! Tell me we won't go there. Please! I can't! I just can't do that!"

The Doctor let out a sigh as he reached down for Sara. Could his day get any worse? He shrugged. He could still be unconscious. He remembered how Sara healed his counterpart that had been near death only one year prior and to know that she did the same to him was incredible but it didn't change his position. He had to protect both Sara and Penny since they were his wards and under his purview.

The battle ended as the three aggressive vampires ran the other direction with unnatural speed and the Doctor lifted Sara up into his arms who was doing her best despite her weakened state to struggle against him. He was simply too strong.

"It looks like she needs medical attention." Carlisle said. "I'm a doctor. I could help."

The Doctor snorted looking at him. "Well, I'm the Doctor."

The seven vampires looked at each other in confusion. "Doctor who?" Carlisle asked.

"Okay, yes, why don't you guys talk that out? Actually, not raining, maybe go play a round of baseball, and we'll just be on our way," Sara advised, her tone absolutely dripping in condensation. "Come one, Penny, we can't leave the Doctor like this." Hesitantly, I trotted over to her side.

"But wait, you need our protection, and -"

"-Protection? From _you_?" She rolled her eyes, interrupting which ever one of the alien-sirens that spoke. "Tell me, is the glitter natural, or do you have to reapply it each day?" The teen-vampire who worked part-time as a tragic poet ran his hand through his hair much like Ten did when he was frustrated. I watched him keenly, noticing that Sara was right, that his pale skin did, in fact, glimmer.

"She's the one who told me that the Volturi are coming," he accused, gesturing in Sara's direction. "Both of them know things, like Alice." I froze, my blood running cold. No, not him too. I knew nothing of this dimension, nothing at all!

"Except I can't draw!" Sara retorted, my look of confusion at her seemingly random statement morphed into one of horrified surprise when she gestured to me saying, "She's the artist here, but even she doesn't need to use her ability for people like you."

'_No, Sara!'_ I mentally screamed, _'Stop it, you're making the situation worse by baiting them! Regardless if they are just some characters from an, apparently, terrible book doesn't make them any less dangerous!' _I worried gripped her arm. "Sara," I warned, trying to convey my urgent thoughts to her.

"Sorry, Penny," she apologized, "But this is the worst possible dimension, okay? These vampires...well, this one for example," Sara pointed to Edward, snickering, "Is a 109 year old virgin."

I looked at her in horror as the newcomer alien-sirens exclaimed, "Hey, that's private!" Edward flushed in embarrassment, and, for a moment, I pitied him.

'_But then again,'_ I thought, '_At least he's got more material to angst about.' _My attention wandered, as a whole, these seven new vampires didn't seem very dangerous, they were almost nice. I was only truly worried at the three that attacked us. then again… "Are they dangerous?" I asked.

Sara briefly considered it, "Maybe when it's sunny."

I wondered why that was. Did the sun give them power, like a solar cell or something, and they just shoot out rays of light that disintegrated people or something? Scary thought. The Doctor would know what to do, even when he didn't. He was good with aliens and their weaknesses. We needed to help him first, though. "Sara," I prompted nervously, "The Doctor…"

Suddenly, the alien-sirens, who claimed to be vampires, attacked each other. I watched in horror. They were like animals, snarling with feral looks in their eyes. Unable to look, I turned away. "Penny," Sara said, gaining my attention. "when I'm done, I'm not going to be able to move for around ten to twenty minutes, so don't panic, it's fine."

'_Oh, okay,' _I thought, nodding along in agreeably before freezing. "Wait, what?" I asked, baffled.

"Time Lords are more difficult than humans," Sara said by way of explanation, which really didn't explain anything. Frustrated, scared, and feeling useless, I remained silent. I watched in amazement as Sara knelt beside the Doctor and touched him. The moment she did, the same diffuse glow as before surrounded him, looking like beautiful fireflies before they were absorbed by him. Abruptly, he jerked awake and Sara collapsed beside him. I looked at Sara in awe.

She saw me staring at her. "Just get him out of here, Penny. He won't understand these vampires." She sighed, "I was forced to sit through all four movies with Jessica."

Wait, they made _movies _out of it too? _Four _of them? I thought it was a really bad book, why would they do that? They must've been desperate.

"What happened? Who are they? Penny you all right? Thought I was...What happened to her?" The Doctor shot off, asking too many questions at once as he felt his head.

I gripped onto the last question feeling a happy smile bloom on my face. "She healed you, she helped you even after you…" I trailed off, my smile dimming a little, because she wasn't the only person he had lied to.

He gained a guilty look on his face. "You're right, I shouldn't have lied, I should have gone about it differently. But she's under my jurisdiction and that means she's my responsibility."

"I can't go back, I won't!" Sara exclaimed. "I came to get Penny, you don't need her anymore. I have a place back home where we could stay. I thought she could even occasionally travel with you from time to time, but she could still have a normal life! I was trying to help."

"I know, and I am sorry." I turned to look back from Sara to the Doctor. "But you and Penny are now my wards."

"No, I just helped you, please!" I looked back at Sara.

"I'm sorry." Then at the Doctor.

"Why couldn't we land in the dimension where Sherlock Holmes played by Benedict Cumberbatch was real? Why do I always get the worst case scenarios?" Back at Sara.

The Doctor sighed, and I looked at him.

"What's the next dimension going to be?" Back to Sara, once more. My head felt like it was spinning from watching this verbal tennis match. "Those other books where the 'Host' is real? Talk about shiny, happy people with parasites in their heads!"

My hearts stuttered, a flash of fear ripping through me, quick and almost painful. I made a small noise of terror. I turned to the Doctor completely now, trembling. "No, Doctor, tell me we won't go there, please! I can't, I just can't do that!" My nose started to wiggle again as the tears sprouted in my eyes. I couldn't, I just couldn't. Unlike the Nameless, I wouldn't just be asleep in my subconscious, safely tucked away, I would be dead, crushed, forced into the Dark once more permanently.

The Doctor went over to Sara within irritated expression on his face. "You just had to scare her, it takes forever to calm her down once she properly worked up. There was no call for that," he grumbled as he bent down and picked her up into his arms.

I shuddered, the images running through my head now, thinking of both the 'Host' and 'Animorphs' from when I was a small child. I didn't know what was worse. One where I would be complete gone and out of the picture, or the other where an alien sneered and cackled as it controlled my body, forcing me to lie and trick the people I cared for into becoming a host. I starting shaking uncontrollably, and I wrapped my arms around myself, scared. _'No, no, no, I don't want to go there, please!'_

Even the classic "Doctor Who?" question failed to make me feel any better.

I retreated into myself, closing off to the world around me. I couldn't go there or to any dimension like that. I would rather stay here for the rest of my life. I would rather stay in _the TARDIS _for the rest of my life. I would, I would go back to the hospital first! I collapsed to my knees starting to hyperventilate. _'No, no, no, no, I won't go, I refuse, I'm not going! I'll die if I go, I don't to die, please, please, _please_, don't take me!'_

"_Oh no, she's going through another panic-attack,"_ the Doctor's voice floated through my mind. _"Penny, can you hear me? Everything's alright, there's nothing in your head, you're safe, I promise you, Penny."_

"_What's wrong with her?" _Sara sounded alarmed.

"_Jasper."_

"_No, don't touch her!"_

"_What are you doing to my ward?"_

I felt the fear slowly dissipating, the tremors living my body. My body felt sluggish, weak, as a calmed and relaxed feeling stole over me. What was I so afraid of earlier? I couldn't remember. I was fine, everything was fine. I just tired, that was it. I was completely fine. I had nothing to be scared of…

Dimly, I felt my hands lower from their position of clutching at my head and the world came into focus around me. I saw the Doctor staring at me in concern and Sara looked at me in horror. I gave a reassuring smile, feeling spacey.

"What did you do?" The Doctor asked again.

"I can influence emotions, I just calmed her down, eased her fear." Someone behind me said, releasing my shoulders and helping me stand up.

"You certainly seem to have your hands full...Doctor. Maybe you should come with us, we could help."

"Yes, who knows if the other three are merely waiting to ambush you the moment you leave our sight?"

"You could stay until we are sure that they are gone."

The Doctor hesitated, glancing at Sara and me, before nodding reluctantly. "I...suppose. Just for one day. The TARDIS needs to rest for another….twenty-two hours and forty-nine minutes. Her defenses are down, and anyone would be able to saunter in if we went inside while they were following us. The perception filter wouldn't work if the three of us draw attention to her…"

"No, Doctor, you can't seriously be considering-"

"I am, Sara, and that's final. I would rather not put either of you into any more danger. And you!" The Doctor declared suddenly, turned to Edward. "Stop that! It's rude. I'm not digging through your thoughts, and I expect the same courtesy."

Another alien-siren sighed, "Edward, why don't you go to Bella and inform her that the baseball game is canceled."

"Oh, we better hurry, it's raining," a girl's voice piped up.

"What are you talking about? It's-"

The Doctor was interrupted by a loud crack of thunder and a sudden deluge of rain.

"Look I'm sorry that I scared her!" Sara exclaimed in panic. "I was just making stuff up!" _Well, I could tell her that anyway. Multidimensional being like me and she won't know…_

"Penny, look, I was making up the dimension regarding The Host. There's no such thing. I'm multi-dimensional and I was just trying to irritate the Doctor. That's it." Sara explained quickly.

"What? You were?" Penny look slightly hopeful.

"You know me." Sara said. "Remember how I sent the Skaian back? Well I saw all the dimensions." She cleared her throat thinking to herself. _I am such a terrible liar. At least Penny believes me. _"The Host wasn't part of it. However, I did see the dimension where Sherlock Holmes existed which is why I wanted to be there…wouldn't that be cool?"

She saw Penny thinking and then she smiled. "Yeah, that would be pretty awesome. Maybe the Doctor would take us there."

"Maybe, but I would definitely never come back." Sara said leaving no room for doubt. "But we could both stay there and we wouldn't have to put up with the Doctor traveling for 200 years to-"

"Oi! You two. Don't make me fix a paradox right here."

"A what?" Edward appeared tremendously uncertain as he batted his shimmering, beautiful, amazing golden eyes which would leave any beginning writer struggling to find more adjectives to describe how utterly awesome they were. Edward thought he learned things all those times retaking high school 18 times but now faced with the two girls and this man who claimed to be the Doctor, he wondered whether he should have gone on to college rather then stay in high school.

The Doctor stared at him, shaking his head. "Never mind." He nodded to Carlisle. "Lead the way."

Sara let out a groan and tried to struggle in his arms but she was still too weak from healing him. _17 more minutes. _She thought. The Doctor merely adjusted his hold on her, gripping her tightly.

"They must be special." Carlisle said. "I saw her heal you. Is she a vampire too? Saw her send out that light."

"It wasn't glitter!" Sara protested in the Doctor's arms who frowned down at her.

"A vampire?" The Doctor exclaimed. "She's not a vampire. They're half human and

they-"

"Hybrids?" Carlisle frowned. The Volturi wouldn't like that.

"They are not hybrids!" The Doctor said. "In a day, you won't have to worry about them anymore."

"How do you have a human with two hearts?" Carlisle asked.

"Carefully." The Doctor said.

"How do you have vampires that glitter." Sara retorted. "Why can't you be like classic vampires and burn up in the sun? "

"Wait." Penny said. "I thought you said they were the most dangerous in the sun."

"Well, the glitter hurts my eyes. Doesn't it hurt yours?" Sara asked.

Penny let out a groan. "Sara. Please, are they actually dangerous? These vampires?"

Even the Doctor was looking at her for explanation.

"You have a very hotheaded psychic right there." Carlisle observed.

"Can't blame her. She lost her entire family and friends at once and was imprisoned for weeks by a Time-" The Doctor stopped trying to find another way to explain it. "A very dangerous man. She's obviously still traumatized and is known to get very confused!" He gave Sara a fierce look that she recognized when from the Snowmen when he was talking to Thrax who couldn't interpret Clara's gender.

"I'm not confused!" Sara said resentfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Carlisle shook his head in regret.

"Both girls lost all their families and with their abilities I have to watch over them." The Doctor said. "Except this one," He nodded to Sara, "Managed to run away and elude me for a year doing God knows what."

"Having a normal life?" Sara said sarcastically. "Making friends?" She glared at him. "Yes, I can see why you want to imprison me. Who would want me doing that?"

"Imprison her?" Carlisle asked.

The Doctor sighed. "She's exaggerating. She's my ward. She just needs to be observed. She can't run around without me knowing where she is. It's dangerous."

"Right." Sara said. "That's what his other self said who locked me in my room and strapped me to a bed to perform tests-"

"That wasn't me."

"Semantics." Sara said as they stepped into the home where Carlisle was staying. "You lied to me to get me onboard the TARDIS and then you locked the door as soon as I was there. Everything you say is a lie."

Penny looked at the Doctor perplexed and somewhat betrayed. "Why did you lie to Sara? She's my friend. She helped me and then she even helped you. I thought you were my friend. You do care about me, about us, don't you Doctor?"

"Penny," The Doctor said, "Of course I do but what kind of Doctor would I be if I didn't ensure your friend was protected. The biofilter only partially hid her readings. It was a matter of time before some species found her, took her and did horrible things to her. Do you really want that for Sara?"

"No that wouldn't happen-" Sara tried.

"Penny, you have to believe me, I want to keep you both safe. I don't want to see either of you hurt. I'm not lying about that."

"Oh sure, rule number one, Penny, remember?"

"The Doctor always lies." Penny automatically repeated. "But would you really lock us in our rooms?"

"Penny, no." The Doctor assured her. "I give you my word. Remember, my word. I always keep that."

Penny seemed to reach a decision. "Sara said she wouldn't be able to move after she healed you." Penny offered.

Carlisle cleared a space on a couch in his office and she looked resentful as he picked up her hand to take her pulse, testing her other vital signs. The Doctor who had retrieved his sonic from her scanned her with it.

"Energy that was bonded to her cells has depleted but she's already creating more at three different wavelengths." He noted. "It's marginal in production and there is a toxin in her system."

"The venom." Carlisle noted.

"Yes, well with all her energy spent, her system is not fighting it like it should be."

"Wait, no!" Sara exclaimed. "That's not right as she struggled on the couch."

"Well, we can try to have someone suck it out of her." Carlisle suggested while the Doctor gave him a pained expression.

"What do you think this is? The dark ages?" He asked with sarcasm. "The venom is parasitic. I'll simply use telepathy to remove it."

"No!" Sara shrieked. "You can't! I absolutely refuse. I would rather die." She turned to Carlisle. "Please just euthanize me right now."

"Telepathy?" Carlisle asked.

"Look, I'll offer stuff in exchange." Sara said. "Can warn you of everything so you can avoid it. Bella and Edward get married because she can't seem to have any identity for herself without a man and they have a hybrid girl named Renesmee…the Volturi come twice…well first Edward goes there when he thinks Bella tried to kill herself by cliff diving but that was only when you guys split after Edward dumped her in the middle of the woods."

"Why does Edward dump Bella?" Penny asked.

"Maybe you should ask why he didn't dump her sooner." Sara said.

"You didn't answer whether these vampires are really dangerous."

Sara paused. "I guess to the animal population and the proper reputation of real vampires everywhere."

"So they aren't dangerous to us." Penny confirmed.

"It's a romance teen driven angst novel. The only danger there is excessive adjective syndrome." Sara explained.

Edward had walked in. "Is that a real disease?"

Sara snorted. "For you, it is. Be careful. Could be fatal."

Carlisle was thinking. "She doesn't seem to want this telepathy."

"She's my responsibility. I'm the Doctor."

Carlisle frowned. "She's also a person. Has the right to make her own choice."

Sara glanced at him. Who would have thought novels written about teen angst driven vampires were proponents of free will? "You'll actually euthanize me?" She asked him.

Carlisle looked at her skeptically. "Of course not. That's against the law."

"The venom isn't compatible with her physiology. If you don't let me do this, she will die." The Doctor said.

"No!" Penny said. "Sara you can't let that happen."

"I don't want him inside my head, Penny. Can't you understand that?" Sara pleaded.

Carlisle sighed. "You're certain? She won't just turn?"

"Turn? Turn into you? No, impossible. She's not even compatible for that transformation."

"No, it's fine! I'll be fine!" Sara cried out, struggling to move. "You see, Penny why this dimension is horrible?" Suddenly she had a thought. "My purse Penny. Look at my kindle app on my iPad. There are crib notes describing all four books. Did a project for an extension class. Your ability to access and obtain information fast. You'll be able to know everything. Don't let him do this!" Sara demanded.

Carlisle was starting to hold her down as Sara closed her eyes in refusal to telepathy while Penny retrieved her iPad and then a few moments later, let out a horrified gasp.

I was so relieved when Sara confessed that she just wanted to irritate the Doctor. I had panicked, horrified at the thought of losing myself or betraying my precious people. 'The Doctor and Sherlock,' I mused. 'They would either be thicker than thieves or archenemies.'

"Oi, you two! Don't make me fix a paradox right here," the Doctor cut in, scolding us. I shrunk down, chastised. I didn't mean to chance a paradox, I didn't even know one was in danger of happening. Did it have something to do with that two hundred years travel that the Doctor was apparently going to go on?

"A what?" Edward asked, asking the one thing I wanted to ask terribly right now but couldn't, due to not wanting to annoy the Doctor more than he already was. I could practically see his headache forming.

The Doctor stared at the alien-siren like he had drooled all over his shirt before shaking his head in exasperation, "Never mind, lead the way." I trotted over to the Time Lord and Sara and walked next to them, feeling safer that way. I noticed the alien-sirens looking at me in interest and I hunched in on myself, hearts skipping a beat.

A pretty blond one spoke up ahead of us, "They must be special. I saw her heal, saw her send out that light. Is she a vampire too?"

'_Sara? A vampire?'_ I looked at her warily before shaking my head in dismissal. _'Nah, she couldn't be, not her.'_

"It wasn't glitter!" She protested and I furrowed my eyebrows. What did glitter have to do with anything? Did she mean the alien-siren's shiny skin?

"A vampire? No, she's not a vampire. Always wanted to meet one though… but anyway, they're half-human and they-"

The pretty blond from before interrupted, "They're hybrids?"

I thoughtfully considered the question. The Nameless's echo did mention something like that, that I would be half-Skaian…but more like I was an anomaly.

"They're not hybrids, they're…they're…" The Doctor shook his head. "Doesn't matter, in a day, you won't have to worry about them anymore."

"How do you have a half-human with two hearts?"

"Very, very carefully," the Doctor said stealing a glance at me. His eyes seemed to ask if I was okay and I gave a smile. Remembering how much he had fretted over and monitored the process like a hawk, always worried, always kind.

"Well, how do you have vampires that glitter?" Sara snarled, "Why can't you be like classic vampires and burn up in the sun?"

"What? But, Sara, I thought you said that they were their most dangerous in the sun," I said confused.

"Well, the glitter hurts my eyes, doesn't it hurt yours?" Sara asked rhetorically.

"Sara," I whined. "_Please_, are they actually dangerous, these vampires?"

"You have a very hotheaded psychic right there," the blond remarked, not in the least offended. I admired him right then, I really did.

"Can't blame her, she lost her entire family and friends all at once and was imprisoned for weeks by a Time-" The Doctor cut himself off and I looked at him puzzled. He continued, "-a very dangerous man. She's obviously still traumatized and is known to get _very_ _confused_!" He emphasized the last two words fiercely, scolding her and trying to send her a message of some sort… probably telling her to hush. I was told that a lot sometimes.

"I'm not confused!" Sara shot back with a growl.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the alien-siren said sympathetically.

"Both girls lost their families and with their abilities I have to watch over them. Except _this_ one managed to run away and elude me for a year doing God knows what."

"Having a normal life? Making friends? _Yes_, I can see why you want to imprison me. Who would want me doing _that_?" She rolled her eyes and I fidgeted, uneasy. Would he really imprison her? This was the second time she mentioned that and he still hadn't offered any explanation.

As the conversation went on, my feeling of unease grew. I felt like a kid listening in on her parents as they argued heatedly, learning things she didn't want to know, seeing things she didn't want to see, hearing things she never _ever_ wanted to hear.

"You lied to me to get me onboard the TARDIS and then you locked the door as soon as I was there, _everything you say is a lie_."

No, it couldn't be true, the Doctor was my friend, and he wouldn't lie to me, would he? My unease grew. I had to ask him. "Why did you lie to Sara? She's my friend, she helped me, and then she even helped you. I thought you were my friend. You do care about me, about us, don't you, Doctor?"

"Penny, of _course_ I do, but what kind of Doctor would I be if I didn't ensure your friend was protected? The biofilter only partially hides her readings. It was a matter of time before some species found her, took her, and did horrible things to her. Do you really want that for Sara?"

I shook my head, feeling my doubts drifting away. His eyes were focused on mine, imploring. "Penny, you have to believe me, I want to keep you both safe. I don't want to see either of you hurt, I'm not lying about that."

No, he wasn't. I so clearly remembered him going out of his way to help others…help me. He was the closest thing I had to family, really, the only person I had with Donna gone. I closed my eyes, still troubled. The question was though, how far would he go to ensure our safety?

"Oh sure, rule number one, Penny, remember?" Sara prompted.

"'The Doctor always lies,'" I quoted River, remembering. "I know you wouldn't want that, Doctor, really, but…but would you really lock us in our rooms?"

"Penny, no, I gave you my word. Remember, my word? I always keep that."

I relaxed, his word, he gave it, he _promised_. And I've never seen him intentionally give promises that he knew he couldn't keep. He-he might lie on occasion, but only to help, only if there was no other choice or-or-or to make sure that everyone remained calm. Besides, I knew when he was hiding something. He was bad at surprises!

I remembered that one time when he tried to hide the fact that we were going to visit my home country, my home state, he couldn't! He was too twitchy, jittery, voice a bit too high in excitement. He couldn't even conceal it when he knew something everyone else didn't, he always had to tell us what it was, wanted us to be impressed. He was a terrible liar.

We headed inside a large house and followed the blond alien-siren into an office. "Sara said she wouldn't be able to move after she healed you, Doctor," I offered, trying to help. The blonde man cleared a space for her on the couch, and both he and the Doctor checked Sara over while she glared at them sourly.

I took a seat, taking Sara's over the shoulder purse that they tossed on the floor with me. The Doctor soniced her after taking back his screwdriver from her and read the results. He conferred with the alien-siren too quietly for me to hear, but Sara was obviously distressed by whatever it was they were talking about. "No, you can't! I absolutely refuse, I would rather die! Please, just euthanize me right now."

My blood ran cold. She was joking, she had to be. She couldn't really be considering euthanasia, could she? But no, what she was referring to would be mercy killing, assisted suicide, she wanted to kill herself. I was shaken.

'_Thou shall not kill.'_ That included killing yourself. She couldn't really, truly want that, could she? This had to be another one of her jokes, something to get her point across.

"Look, I'll offer stuff in exchange! I can warn you of everything so you can avoid it. Bella and Edward get married, because she can't seem to have any identity for herself without a man. They have a hybrid girl named Renesmee… The Volturi come twice… Well, first Edward goes there when he thinks Bella tried to kill herself by cliff diving, but that was only when you guys split after Edward dumped her in the middle of the woods."

I was confused, distracted temporarily. "Why does Edward dump Bella?" Especially when she just said that they were going to get married?

"Maybe you should ask why he didn't dump her sooner," Sara responded.

Well that didn't make any sense at all. I changed the subject. "You didn't answer whether these vampires are really dangerous."

Sara paused, before saying, "I guess to the animal population and the proper reputation of real vampires everywhere."

"So, they aren't dangerous to us?" I asked slowly, unsure.

"It's a romance teen driven angst novel. The only danger there is Excessive Adjective Syndrome," she snorted, dismissing the idea of any actual threat.

Edward had walked in. "Is that a real disease?"

"For you, it is. Be careful, could be fatal." I couldn't tell if she was joking or not, Edward couldn't seem to figure it out either.

"She doesn't seem to want this telepathy," the blond man pointed out.

"She's my responsibility, I'm the Doctor."

"She's also a person and has the right to make her own choice."

"Wait, so, you'll actually euthanize me?" Sara asked, cutting into the showdown of authority between the Doctor and the alien-siren. My sense of horror had returned three-fold, when I realized that she was taking the suicide idea seriously.

"Of course not, that's against the law."

"The venom isn't compatible with her physiology, if you don't let me do this, she will die," the Doctor informed coldly, not budging an inch.

"No!" I exclaimed, terror gripping me at the idea, "Sara you can't let that happen!"

"I don't want him inside my head, Penny, can't you understand that?" Sara pleaded, and I closed my eyes painfully. I knew very well what it was like to have the Doctor in my head, both when he was gentle and when he was violent.

"You see, Penny, why this dimension is horrible?" No, I didn't. Why did it even matter anyway? She wanted to die. "My purse, Penny, look at my kindle app on my iPad. There are crib notes describing all four books, did a project for an extension class. Your ability to access and obtain information fast, you'll be able to know everything. Don't let him do this!"

What did the books have to do with anything? I was guessing that she didn't want to turn into a vampire, but she also didn't want to have the Doctor in her mind, a catch-22. Unsure, I hurriedly went over to her purse and obediently opened the app, my eye scanning the pages quickly.

The plot strikes me as one of an unfulfilled promise. It seems like it might be interesting at first glance, but never moves past mediocrity, like a teenage girl herself wrote about it, like the story had potential but never got there, only continuing on a path of clichés that may have been different than most but still paralleled. I didn't see how it could get any worse until I got to the fourth book. I could barely bring myself to read it, it was almost physically painful to do so, but as I read what Bella had to go through, I knew that I couldn't let this happen to Sara.

Not to her, never her.

"Sara, please, trust me," I pleaded. "You need to let the Doctor help you, I promise he will! I-I know what it's like to have something in your mind, I know what it's like to have him in my mind too, both your Doctor and mine. H-he only wants to help, b-but if… if you don't want him in yours, I could…I could do it."

"Penelope!" The Doctor exclaimed in surprise. "I've only just started teaching you how to mind touch, this takes delicacy. If you're not careful, both of you will die."

"Yeah, but-but I have the Nameless's echo to help me. I'll…I'll let her take over briefly since we share my mind. Whenever I manage to touch minds with you, she's there too. I-I won't be alone!" I turned to Sara, begging, "I…I won't do anything untoward, please, I promise! Don't die, Sara, don't leave me alone, let me help!"

Sara groaned. This put her in an awkward position. How was she to know she would be allergic to Twilight venom if she healed a Time Lord? If she lived, she would have to go back to becoming someone's ward, which was a fancy way of saying a prisoner. The Doctor wouldn't let her return to her job.

She remembered the somatoforms and how painful it was to get rid of those parasites still the Doctor was teaching Penny how to hypnotize people?

She was starting to get angry and somehow despite the pain of the venom she felt her energy returning to her legs and arms. _I can move. _After all the time the other Doctor penetrated her mind without consent, any intrusion in Sara's mind was unwelcome. She even saw a therapist although she had to insert in similar details but the diagnosis was the same. She was having the most heinous flashbacks of people going inside her own thoughts. No. No one would touch her mind again. For all she knew, the Doctor was putting those thoughts in Penny's head to make her agree. Unacceptable but for a Doctor that lied to her and slammed the door shut, she wouldn't put it past him.

Thinking quickly, as she carefully moved her body in a ready position she widened her eyes and stared out the window. "Oh my God, is that the Volturi fighting the werewolfs right outside the window?"

Exclamations came from everywhere as everyone dashed over to the window to get a view and Sara was on her feet, running out the door. _Screw this stupid place. _The Doctor had been wrong before and she couldn't trust a man who always lied and manipulated people. That was why she wanted to take Penny with her. She was thinking how much fun the two of them could have in the City. Sure, they didn't age like others but she had technology and ability to keep changing ids…they could have a normal life even if it alternated every 20 years.

She heard people yelling behind her. She was running down the sidewalk when a girl started to round a corner who appeared to be looking straight up at the sky above her as if she was counting the raindrops rather then paying the least bit of attention where she was going. Because she was walking in a pattern that resembled one that had too many drinks and therefore couldn't manage to meander in any semblance to a straight line, she managed to trip Sara right off her feet.

Slamming into the ground, Sara used her hands to brace the impact. _Crap, that hurts. _She turned to glare at the incompetent who couldn't manage to look where she was going.

"Oh sorry," the girl said airily. "So hard to pay attention with all these thoughts in my head." This girl offered a vague smile. "It's just so hard because I'm so sad."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sara exclaimed. "Bella?"

"Oh yeah?" Bella asked. "Did we meet at school? I meet a lot of people at school. Can't keep track of their names."

Sara groaned. This girl was giving her a headache already. "Ok, Bella look, if I tell you that you will get to be a Vampire, can you tell them I went the opposite direction."

"Oh that's so cool. So my skin will sparkle too and-?"

"Yes, now I'm going this way, can you tell them, I went that way?" Sara asked.

"What if I get confused?" Bella posed.

Sara gritted her teeth. "Ok, just remember, I went that way." She pointed in one direction.

"That way. Got it." Bella said, smiling blankly.

Sara started running in the opposite direction to where she pointed, hiding behind the bushes of a neighboring house.

She watched as the Doctor raced out with Carlisle at his heels. "Oh Bella," Carlisle said in relief. "Did you see which way this girl went? Brown hair, a little older then you?"

"Oh well," Bella said. "It was the strangest thing. She ran one way and then pointed the opposite direction and told me to tell you she went that way. She couldn't have gone both ways." Bella shook her head. "No, she didn't. She only pointed that way." Bella pointed in one direction and then went the opposite and well-" Suddenly Bella put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. She told me I would become a vampire if I would help her. Will you keep that a secret?"

The Doctor gave her the most incredulous look and headed off in Sara's direction while Sara felt like pounding her head against the brick wall she was closest to.

She started to run again only to slam directly into Edward who grabbed her arms. "I need to know if excessive adjective syndrome is really fatal?"

"If I tell you, will you let me go?" Sara asked.

"Probably." He mused.

"Then no but it's a disgusting habit that you should do away with." Sara spat. "Oh look, isn't that Bella back there getting attacked by James?" Edward froze, dashing a few steps ahead as Sara quickly made tracks away from him only to slam directly into the Doctor.

"Hope you had your fun, Sara." The Doctor said flatly, taking hold of her arm.

"No one is using telepathy on me!" Sara screamed as she started to hyperventilate. She remembered all the times the other Doctor used it on her and she just couldn't do it no matter who the person was. Her therapist said to avoid triggers. The flashbacks were starting and she remembered the Doctor advancing on her in the TARDIS on Mars, seizing her, his hands on her temples and she was shrieked 'no' against him. Then she was in London being chased down, being forced into the dirt as she plunged into her mind and suddenly she collapsed, falling onto the ground grasping her head remembering the Valeyard in her dreams. "No, please don't take my name. You can't have it. I won't let you!"

"What's wrong with her?" Penny had just ran up after finally disengaging from the other vampires ascertaining that they were most likely not so dangerous as they were disappointing.

"Penny!" Sara screamed. "The Valeyard, he's here!"

"What?" Penny looked around in fear. "Where?"

"No Penny." The Doctor said. "She's hallucinating. Having a flashback." He theorized. "Maybe the venom." He turned to Sara who put her hands to her face. "Sara, there is no Valeyard."

"He's here again. I know he's here!" Without opening her eyes, she pointed frantically at Edward. "That's the Valeyard!"

Penny started to step away from him now altogether unsure.


End file.
